Who is the Defensive Player of the Year?

[bisme37]

Tight race for DPOY with many deserving candidates.

Who would you vote for as DPOY?

And who do you think will win? (If it's a different answer.)

Smart was on ESPN earlier and I found out he's now the betting favorite. He's an absolute beast and I'm def not complaining haha, but I'm not entirely confident that he'll actually win. What say you?

Current betting odds for reference:

Marcus Smart (Boston) +120
Bam Adebayo (Miami) +300
Mikal Bridges (Phoenix) +350
Rudy Gobert (Utah) +450
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee) +1300
Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis) +1600
Robert Williams (Boston) +3500
Draymond Green (Golden State) +10000
Evan Mobley (Cleveland) +10000
Matisse Thybulle (Philadelphia) +20000
Joel Embiid (Philadelphia) +25000
Deandre Ayton (Phoenix) +30000

https://www.vegasinsider.com/nba/odds/defensive-player-of-the-year/

[Madhouse]

Bam

[eminence]

Mikal is my pick.

[whatisacenter]

It's Mikal for me but if Bam or Smart end up winning it wouldn't be a travesty.

[Nate505]

Bam is my pick. I love Gobert, but he's just not quite at his level this year, and all these late game collapses are hurting his cause. I think he's unfairly blamed for it, but he's a part of it.

[Texas Chuck]

I think it should be Gobert. But it won't be. Tough with both Embiid and Bam because they have such strong defenders playing alongside them, particularly Bam. I think I'd lean Embiid over him honestly.

[Johnny Bball]

Smart, and if he doesn't win it's because he made his own bed flopping to much and Bam wins.

And if you can't defend the perimeter too, you shouldn't be DPOY anymore.

[Domejandro]

1. Mikal Bridges
2. Rudy Gobert

[Capn'O]

JJJ was absolutely incredible against us so I voted for him.

[planetmars]

Robert Williams III.

Boston has the #1 defense in the league. Williams is their best defender, not Smart. But Smart will get the votes.

[Johnny Tomala]

Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis) is my pick.

[Theocy]

Robert Williams III.

Boston has the #1 defense in the league. Williams is their best defender, not Smart. But Smart will get the votes.

This.

RW is freaky good. He goes down and suddenly Celtics become human again. Mind you smart is excellent and Biid has had an amZing year too.

Still, big men who defend well seem to have a bigger defensive impact on the game. Smart is more of a defensive general if one can exist.

Some good choices in this poll. Dont turn it into a ****.

I’d say with Cs having the best defence in the league their best defender should win it. That’s either RW because of how scary good he is or Smart for how he orchestrates evry single Celtic. An opinion and easily challenged.

[SeanieWard]

Robert Williams III.

Boston has the #1 defense in the league. Williams is their best defender, not Smart. But Smart will get the votes.

I second that

At first I chose Mikal Bridges who I think is very deserving also but Robert Williams III is such an underrated player and I like him a little more in terms of defensive impact. I think he completely changes the game with his defense similarly to how Gobert has done in years past. Marcus Smart is good pick also but Robert Williams III anchors that defense and is the biggest difference maker for them on that side of the ball

I think Draymond Green had the award wrapped up before getting hurt. Him and the Warriors were on a tear but they haven't been the same since with all the injuries

Tight race this year indeed

[Tor_Raps]

Smart, and if he doesn't win it's because he made his own bed flopping to much and Bam wins.

And if you can't defend the perimeter too, you shouldn't be DPOY anymore.

Then if you cant guard the paint, you shouldn't be DPOY either.

[Mattatron]

JJJ

[MrBigShot]

Smart leads the poll, yet he is ranked 9th on the team in defensive rating (Williams is 1st), 4th in DPM (Williams is 1st) and has lower defensive win shares than Robert Williams despite playing more games.

Williams also averages about 12 rebounds, 1 steal, and 3 blocks a game per 36 while being 6'8 to Smart's 6'3. So I third the timelord nod.

[Johnny Bball]

Smart, and if he doesn't win it's because he made his own bed flopping to much and Bam wins.

And if you can't defend the perimeter too, you shouldn't be DPOY anymore.

Then if you cant guarding the paint, you shouldn't be DPOY either.

You think smart or bridges can't guard his man in the paint?

[cupcakesnake]

My top 5

1. Gobert
2. Bam
3. JJJ
4. Time Lord
5. Giannis

- Gobert is such an outlier in Utah that it's ridiculous. I know Rudy has his haters, but there are just so many things that point to Rudy Gobert being the clear cut biggest defensive impact man in the NBA. If someone else wins, part of that is due to Rudy boredom/dislike.

- Giannis is another defender who is a big outlier on his own team. Both Utah and Milwaukee are not top 10 defenses this year, but I don't think that says much about Giannis or Rudy. Giannis was forced to play center all year with Lopez out, anchoring units with guys like Bobby Portis and Grayson Allen. Milwaukee barely skipped a beat despite tilting more towards offense to survive the season. Giannis is one of the best help defenders in the NBA, one of the biggest physical forces, and is never out of sorts in any matchup.

- A Boston player deserves some big love, but are we kind of defaulting to Marcus Smart? He's a fantastic defender, no doubt. But Time Lord was their heavy artillery on defense. He's injured now but played 61 games. I'm also not sure Horford or Tatum aren't more valuable than Smart. I see a case for Smart as their premier switching maniac and best on the ball stopper. The numbers like the big men more than Smart. I like Smart! But him winning... I don't think would age well. Kind of like how we look back and see DPOYs for Ron Artest or Marcus Cambys and realize Tim Duncan never won one. Marcus Smart is an absolutely sick defender, but is he such a good defender at guard that he's better than all the best defensive big men? My vote is no.

- Despite Miami having other good defenders (PJ, Jimmy, Lowry), Bam very clearly is the man with the most defensive responsibility. They make him switch like crazy AND operate as the backline defender/primary rim protector. The numbers support Bam as by far the biggest defensive difference-maker on Miami's top 5 defense.

- I'm not quite there with Mikal Bridges. He is absolutely an excellent defender. Crazy long arms, quick feet, super smart and disciplined. A high iq defender for sure. But how valuable is a wing defender who is too skinny to defend wings? Bridges will be primarily tasked with chasing guard in the playoffs, and is just not a matchup for the real wing stars in the league. I'd vote him in as a guard on the all-defense team. I don't see him better than bigs, and there's quite a few wing defenders I'd take over him in a playoff series. On the other hand, he's low-key one of the hustliest defenders in the NBA and chases perimeter players all over the court. He does all the perimeter heavy lifting in Phoenix.

- I love DFS and Kleber in Dallas. Neither is going to get enough attention for this award, but they deserve more noise.

- Mobley and Allen are deserving candidates in Cleveland. Injuries decimated this team but they were one of the scariest defenses in the NBA with either or both of these guys on the floor.

- Jaren Jackson Jr. should be in the top 3 for this award. He's an insane paint protector and the anchor of the #4 defense. He's got decent mobility in all kinds of situations when he isn't punking guys in the paint with those arms.

[TroubleS0me]

Robert Williams III.

Boston has the #1 defense in the league. Williams is their best defender, not Smart. But Smart will get the votes.

I second that

At first I chose Mikal Bridges who I think is very deserving also but Robert Williams III is such an underrated player and I like him a little more in terms of defensive impact. I think he completely changes the game with his defense similarly to how Gobert has done in years past. Marcus Smart is good pick also but Robert Williams III anchors that defense and is the biggest difference maker for them on that side of the ball

I think Draymond Green had the award wrapped up before getting hurt. Him and the Warriors were on a tear but they haven't been the same since with all the injuries

Tight race this year indeed

yea it was his

[r0drig0lac]

Bam or RWIII